Magical Love
by HolyCon
Summary: Dawn is sent to Hogwarts for protection from Glory 3 years later she meets Draco Malfroy and Harry Potter BtvsHP cross pairing undecided as of yet. ABANDONED! for now.
1. Prologue Hogwarts

Prologue  
  
"Dawn, we've decided that to keep you safe you're going to have to leave Sunnydale," Buffy Summers was speaking gently but her tone made it clear to her little sister Dawn that there would be no arguing with the decision.  
  
"But why can't you keep me safe?" Dawn asked distressed at the thought of leaving her sister.  
  
Buffy smiled sadly, "It's for the best; where you are going there is no chance that Glory can get you. I need for you to be safe Dawn."  
  
"Where am I being sent?" Dawn asked hoping that it wouldn't be too far for Buffy to come to visit her.  
  
"To Hogwarts, it's a school in Scotland that teaches magic, they've agreed to take you in," Buffy said trying hard not to cry in front of Dawn.  
  
"I don't want to go! I don't want to leave you!" Dawn yelled. "What about the others? You're letting them stay!"  
  
"I'm sorry Dawn, there is no choice in this for you. It's the only way to keep you safe," Buffy said with her voice still walking the line between gentle tears and firm command. "I know this is pretty sudden but everyone has agreed that it would be best to get you to safety as soon as possible, you're leaving today Dawn. Everyone is on their way to come to say their goodbyes and I've already packed what you will need while you were at school today. The school are sending someone to collect you soon, one of the teachers, Hagrid," Buffy told her just as Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya and Giles walked in the door.  
  
"Goodbye Dawn we'll miss you, I'll write all the time I promise," Willow said giving her a big hug as Tara did the same.  
  
"Bye Dawnster, it won't be the same without you around," Xander said wrapping her up in a bear hug, Dawn was crying so much she didn't even notice Spike's entry.  
  
"Now Dawn I will come and visit you regularly to see how you are getting along," Giles said also giving her a hug.  
  
Then Dawn saw Spike standing appearing almost uncertain of the touchy-feely goodbyes of the rest of the Scooby gang, "'Bye Nibblet, see you soon," Spike mumbled not even looking at her. Dawn ran to him and hugged him tightly, crying into his chest, looking bewildered at the girl's reaction he cautiously wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back.  
  
"I'll miss you so much Nibblet" Spike whispered for only her to hear.   
  
A loud knock on the door pulled what had turned into a group hug apart. When Dawn saw the knowing and resolute looks on the adults' faces she swallowed down the last of her tears and decided that she'd give this teacher the best first impression possible given the situation. Buffy opened the door, Slayer facade held in place by her will to be strong for Dawn.   
  
The door opened to reveal a man who was much taller and had a bigger girth than was normal for a human, his face, although most of it was hidden behind a bushy beard and wild hair, was kindly and smiling, "Hello, I'm Hagrid," he introduced himself, "You must be Dawn."  
  
"I... I am its nice to meet you Mr. Hagrid," Dawn said extending her small hand to where he held out his dinner-plate sized hand.  
  
"It's good to meet you too, Dawn. And it's just Hagrid," Hagrid said. "Now my dear go and fetch your bags and we'll get going to Hogwarts!"  
  
"Okay," Dawn agreed morosely.  
  
Dawn walked slowly up the stairs and into her room, she picked up the bags Buffy had packed for her and then went to her hidey hole and took out her photo album so that she could take pictures of her now deceased mother, her sister, and the rest of the Scooby's, even Spike (she had drawn that picture herself as vampires couldn't be photographed anymore than they could have a reflection) with her to Hogwarts. She wiped her fresh tears away as she added the album and a few frames with her diary into one of the bags.  
  
Dawn gave each of the rooms of her home a quick glance before rejoining the gang in the hall, she stood and looked at the sad group; Willow was crying into Xander and Tara had tears in her eyes, Spike was leaning against the wall looking at the floor and Giles cleaning his glasses and looking out of the window and Buffy was talking to Hagrid.  
  
"Are you ready Dawn?" Hagrid asked.  
  
"Yes sir, I am," Dawn answered then she turned to Buffy and embraced her tightly.  
  
"I know you don't understand but it's for the best. I swear I love you, Dawn, I would do anything to make sure that you're safe, even if that means loosing your presence for a while," Buffy said still hugging her little sister, when they finally released each other Dawn could see tears in Buffy's eyes.   
  
"I know, Buffy, I know," Dawn said and then followed Hagrid out of the front door and onto the porch. He pulled out a long stick and waved it saying some words that Dawn didn't understand; she turned around to ask Hagrid and noticed that they weren't on her porch anymore they were on a busy street.   
  
"Now stay close, we don't want you to get lost!" Hagrid said with a slight chuckle as she followed him down the winding street. Fairly quickly they came to a place that called Flourish and Blotts and sold books, there they purchased the books Dawn would need for her studies at Hogwarts. None of the titles or subjects were familiar to Dawn who had been forbidden to look through the books at the Magic Box. The next shop they went to was called Ollivander and its sign proclaimed that they were makers of fine wands since 382 BC. An old man with wild white hair appeared from between two huge shelves lined with small boxes, almost startling Dawn.   
  
"Hello Hagrid," the old man said.  
  
"Hello, Mr. Ollivander," Hagrid told him as they walked up to the service desk with the man. "We're here to get Miss Summers her first wand."   
  
"Of course," Mr. Ollivander said with a knowing smile. "Ahhh I think I have just the one," he went back in to the shelves and when he came back he had with him one of the long skinny boxes. He instructed her to remove the wand from within and give it a wave. Nothing happened. Nothing happened with the next twelve wands Dawn tried.  
  
"Wait, I know which one is for you!" he bent down and opened a drawer behind the desk and brought out another box. This box was different to the others, it was made from a pale wood that had intricate designs carved over its surface.   
  
"This is a special wand; the only one of its kind. It was formed with a core of blood, the blood of a Vampire and the blood of a Slayer. A rare core indeed. Though this is even rarer for the Vampire who gave his blood had been cursed with a soul and the Slayer's Watcher was the one who made this wand and left it in my care," Mr. Ollivander looked at the wand as if he were almost enraptured at the mere sight of it. "Give it a wave so we can be sure that it is the wand for you," he handed her the beautiful wand.   
  
Dawn knew it was the wand for her the moment it touched her palm, it just felt right, the fact that it glowed and produced bright blue sparkles when she waved it was mere confirmation of a fact Dawn knew.  
  
"Well I'll be… you are the one it is meant for, how curious," the old man said.  
  
"Do you know the name of the Watcher that made the wand?" Dawn asked him.  
  
"Rupert Giles," he answered simply seeming sad that he was to give the wand over.  
  
Dawn looked at the wand and she knew that it had been made from Buffy and Angel's blood. She looked at the carvings on the box; there were a set of angel wings on it confirming her assumption, she smiled a little, now she would always feel she had a little of Buffy with her.  
  
"Thank you," Dawn said as she grabbed the beautiful box the Mr Olivander handded her adn followed Hagrid out of the wand shop.   
  
There were a few other items they had to purchase but they soon went through the process of Hagrid waving his wand and transporting them. They arrived on a lawn before a set of gates that blocked a path up to a massive castle. The castle looked like it had been repeatedly expanded and built onto, with towers of various shapes and sizes all over it. Hagrid and Dawn went through the gates and up to the stone steps leading into the castle where they were met by several men and women, the staff of the school.  
  
"Welcome Miss Summers, Dawn if I may, I am Headmaster Dumbledore," a tall man with long white hair, an equally long and white beard and blue eyes that looked full of sparkle and life greeted her, stepping out from the group.  
  
"Hi," Dawn said nervously.   
  
"Dawn, it is an honour to have you here with us at Hogwarts. We have been informed of who you are and we will do our best to keep you safe within our walls," the Headmaster said indicating the castle. "I am sorry to say that because our world is unsettled at present until the danger lessens it would be too risky for you to join the rest of our students, instead I have arranged for the Professors to give you private instruction, and have had private rooms prepared."  
  
Dawn stood in stunned, scared silence while the Headmaster spoke.  
  
"I know this is difficult for you Dawn, and may be for quite some time, but your safety and the safety of my students must come first. You are strong, Dawn." The group followed the Headmaster inside as he spoke. He explained further what was expected of Dawn as they made their way into a long hall with an enchanted ceiling that appeared as the sky above it, the group stopped in front of a small three-legged stool with a ragged looking hat perched on it.  
  
A stern looking woman who had identified herself as Professor McGonagall in a thick Scottish accent came to the front of the group, "This is the Sorting Hat, it will choose which of our school houses you will be identified with; Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. The hat looks within you and chooses by your characteristics, for example, Hufflepuff is the home of the loyal, Gryffindor the brave, Ravenclaw the clever and Slytherin the ambitious. Being in one house does not mean that you do not have the traits of the other houses though. Go ahead and put it on."  
  
Dawn sat down where she was told to and was startled once more when a voice sounded in her head, "Well, it is clear from what's here that you are no Ravenclaw," the voice said and Dawn felt a bit offended until she remembered what McGonagall had said about it not meaning she wasn't able to have that houses characteristics as well.   
  
"You aren't cut out for Hufflepuff either," the voice told her.  
  
"So it's between Gryffindor and Slytherin," Dawn thought.  
  
"It appears that you are brave, but that it is your ambition to prove yourself that drives your courage, SLYTHERIN!" The last word rang in Dawn's ears as she removed the hat and stood, it had been shouted for everyone to hear.  
  
"Ah, the house of the ambitious, we can expect great things from you then. As a Slytherin you are under Professor Snape's pastoral care, he is the member of staff you should go to first should the need to seek one of us out occur," the headmaster said pointing to a tall sneering man with shoulder length black hair that didn't look washed, the irises of his eyes appeared to be black more than anything else and he was also wearing long black robes. The presence of all that black against both his pale skin and all the colour the other teachers, Dumbledore in particular, were wearing made him appear really washed out.  
  
"Come," he said and she followed him out of the hall. They walked through a maze of corridors until they came to a wall with a large painting of a woman and a small dragon. The professor spoke a few words to the woman and the painting vanished. After they had walked through there was a slight scraping noise and Dawn turned around to see that there was a plain but heavy looking wooden door and wall where the back of the canvas for the painting should have been.  
  
Dawn turned back to look at her surroundings, they were in a beautiful room, the walls were painted maroon, there was a flagstone floor with a rug placed in the middle. A four poster bed stood by the window it had a maroon and black patchwork comforter on it, a coat of arms was stitched into the middle patch, the pillows were an assortment of maroon, black and charcoal, each with the coat of arms in the lower right corner. There was a desk in the far corner of the room. Dawn looked back at professor Snape who was looking intently at her.  
  
"I hope you will be comfortable here," Snape said, his tone bland as if he were saying it out of expected courtesy than any real hope.   
  
"I'm sure I will," Dawn said quietly.  
  
"Your lessons will start tomorrow. You will be supplied with Slytherin uniforms and you are to wear your Slytherin attire at all times except for the weekends and obviously at night. You are a member of my house now, while the Headmaster may expect great things from you, I will demand them, you will apply yourself to your studies and not make trouble," with one final stern look he turned around and left.   
  
Dawn began unpacking immediately to distract herself from the fact that she was now entirely alone. She had completed that task when she realised that she wasn't alone, not completely, as a loud squawk emanated from the corner of her room with the desk. There was a cage sat beneath the desk with a black owl sat in it, the cage had a label tied to it, Dawn took the label and read it aloud to the mostly empty room,  
  
"Dawn,  
  
I thought you might like to have a pet to keep you company, so I bought this owl, she can be used to send letters too. I named her Dusk, but if that does not suit then you can change it. Study well and keep safe,  
  
Giles"  
  
She had to wipe a few tears away from her cheeks when she finished reading the label. She untied it from the cage and tucked it carefully between the pages of her diary. Then petting the owl gently she introduced herself, "hello Dusk I'm Dawn. Dawn and Dusk, how funny, well I like it. We will be good friends you and I."   
  
Dawn stayed by the owl, occasionally petting it until it had been dark for many hours before she changed into her pyjamas and crawled into her bed where she fell into a deep sleep and dreamt of her family and friends back home. 


	2. 3 Years Later

Dawn had woken up at the same time each morning for the three years she had been living and learning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been visited by Giles, her sisters Watcher and her father figure once a month; she craved those visits almost as much as she had wanted to leave the refuge the school offered and return to Sunnydale at the beginning. Letters arrived from Buffy and Willow weekly, always on the same day, regardless of what was happening in the war against Glory, a hell goddess that sought to use Dawn to return to her world causing destruction on Earth at the same time.

Today was one of the days Dawn fairly sprang out of bed to await the arrival of the owl from home, she waved her wand, said a few spells and the bed was made. She had time this morning to pull on her Slytherin House Hogwarts uniform before the owl arrived, the letter tied to its leg with a leather thong. Dawn took the letter and opened it eagerly.

Dear Dawn,

Dawnie, I'm so sorry I'm unable to be there to tell you this face to face. We won, Glory is gone, but Buffy was hurt really seriously in the fight. Buffy's dead now, Dawn. I'm also sorry to tell you that we didn't have the chance to get you here in time for the funeral. Know that her last words and thoughts were of you, she said that she was happy now that you were safe from Glory and that she loves you.

I know that you said you were looking forwards to coming home in all of your letters, but these last few battles, Dawn, they've left Sunnydale a mess, until that is sorted out and everyone is healed we've decided that you should stay.

Giles has written to the school and asked that they move you into the main school rather than keep you separated now that you are safe. You'll be able to make friends and complete your education with them.

We'll continue to write to you, and Giles will still visit.

We love you Dawn,

Willow

Just as Dawn was finishing the note her door opened, and Professor Snape was only just able to get there in time to prevent Dawn from hitting her head against the floor as she fell in a dead faint.

He picked up the letter and read it as he levitated Dawn on a stretcher to the infirmary wing. "Damn."

The school healer, Madam Pomfrey, placed Dawn in a drugged sleep that would allow her to wake slowly and give her time to think through and absorb the dreadful news she had been given in her owl.

When Dawn woke fully Headmaster Dumbledore was at her bedside. "The letter, it was real wasn't it? She's dead," Dawn forced out of her mouth as soon as she was able. "And I'm where? Not my room."

"This, this is the infirmary and it speaks of what a good student you are that you have not yet seen it. Yes Dawn, Buffy did die this week. I am sorry for the loss of a person so caring," he said. "Dawn, we will give you a week if you would like before we move you to the Slytherin House area, as requested by Mr. Giles."

"I would like that week," Dawn said then sniffling a bit asked for some privacy before allowing herself to surrender to the sobs and crying that were building inside of her.

The week had passed leaving Dawn tired and worn out from her grief, but as she had agreed, she moved to the Slytherin House dungeon quarters. She had spent the morning getting her belongings settled in her new room which she was to share with two other girls and was waiting, curled up in one of the large armchairs, for the rest of the Slytherins to return from their lunch in the Great Hall so that she could meet them. She had a large text-book cradled in her lap, Potions, and even though her love for the subject was strong it could not tempt her eyes to stay open any longer after her morning of lugging boxes around even with the house elves help.

Another Slytherin who should have been in the Great Hall but wasn't, was Draco Malfoy, he stalked into the common room in a flurry of robes and temper. "That bastard, Potter! One day he'll get what's coming to him," Draco hissed to the silent, seemingly empty room.

Draco crossed the common room to the large armchairs next to the fire with the intent of slamming himself down into the one nearest the fire and brooding over how to destroy Harry Potter. He was stopped from this when he noted that his chair was occupied already. By a girl. She was wearing a Slytherin uniform but he didn't recognise her. There just weren't any girls with auburn hair flowing down to their waists in any of the older years, and she appeared to be about his age. "Wake up," he ordered and was rewarded with a glimpse of blue eyes as they fluttered open.

"What are you looking at?" Dawn said, cranky about having been woken and about being very obviously under the boy's scrutiny.

"Nothing. All I see is nothing," Draco threw back scowling, wanting the new girl to piss off and leave him to his anger. He did his best to ignore the pain that flashed across the girl's face as she pulled herself up and out of his chair heading towards the door that opened to the girls' corridor.

Dawn wanted to get to her room so that she could close the curtains around the four-poster bed and cry. She had thought that her grief over Buffy's death had used up all her tears, yet here she was insulted and crying. Being called 'nothing' had hit her hard because it was too close to her own insecurities about her existence as Dawn rather than as a ball of energy. She turned from her path and headed into the girl's bathroom instead.

Draco followed the girl until she went into the bathroom and he stood at the door and he felt even worst when he heard her start to sob in earnest.

Draco felt guilt wash over him like an invisible wave, he pushed it aside and walked away from the door, the others would be back at any minute and it wouldn't do for them to see such a weak emotion in him, one of life's little lessons he'd been taught by the best, his father.

Dawn wiped the drying tears off of her face and looked at her reflection in the mirror above the row of sinks. Her reflection was disappointing to her, though she knew that she shouldn't have expected any better; her eyes and nose were red and puffy, her hair was tangled and static from sleeping in the chair. Fixing her appearance as much as she was able Dawn decided to fetch the Potions text from the common room later and to go and have a lie down on her bed so that she wouldn't have to face the nasty git who had upset her so much.

Dawn was startled awake by a girl who must have been one of the Slytherin first years, "Professor Snape sent me to take you through to the Great Hall for dinner."

Dawn tidied herself up again then let the younger girl led her through the school's corridors to the long hall where she had been taken when she had first arrived.

She sat at the end of the table nearest to the doors as directed to by the girl who didn't bother to introduce herself. Being sat there Dawn was surrounded by students in her year, the seventh and final year at Hogwarts. She noticed that the blonde boy who had upset her earlier was with them.

There were lots of platters piled high with the same sorts of delicious food she had grown used to over her years at Hogwarts. It was a sad truth but neither Buffy nor Willow could cook with any finesse and before coming here Dawn ad been getting used to simple food and take away meals. That reminder dispelled Dawn's appetite but she helped herself to servings as those around her did.

All the students were eating and talking away when the doors to the great hall burst open with a clatter and a bang admitting a lone figure.


	3. The Visitor

Dawn looked up and was surprised to see who the person who had walked into the hall was. It felt like it had been an eternity since she had last seen him. Professor Dumbledore had stood up and begun speaking before Dawn could recover from the surprise and say or do something to greet him more than raising herself up out of her seat.

"Identify yourself, stranger," Dumbledore's voice rang through the hall in a demanding tone.

"Now, now don't go getting you knickers in a twist. My name is Spike and I've just come to see my little bit, now where is she?" Spike said he looked around the room then he saw Dawn standing up staring at him and he stared back at her.

"Do you know this man Miss Summers?" Professor Snape asked her.

Dawn turned around to look up the hall to her Head of House. "Yes, sir. I do," Dawn said then she finally moved as she had wanted to since recognising Spike, she moved around the table and flung herself into his open arms in a bone crushing hug.

Dawn didn't care that everybody was watching them, that no one was chattering and no one was eating. No one saw Dumbledore sit down in his chair and smile at the reunion of the pair.

Spike let Dawn go and pulled back a step to inspect what damage the years away from home had done to his nibblet. She was actually wearing a uniform, her hair had grown even longer and she had grown both taller and slimmer. He pulled her to him again in a gentler hug, "Good to see you again, bit." He looked around the hall again, "Looks like we're the star attraction."

"Dawn I would like to see you and Spike in my office now, please," Snape said then got up from his seat and stalked past Spike and Dawn knowing that the two would follow him out of the room.

Draco watched the girl from earlier, Dawn, leave the hall with the man called Spike both going after Professor Snape. It was too irresistible to his natural curiosity which had already been piqued by the sudden appearance of the girl in Slytherin; he got up and trailed a short way behind them knowing that as a Prefect he had reason enough to be near Snape's office. He leaned into the door to listen to what they were saying.

"YOU CAN NOT JUST WALK INTO A SCHOOL FULL OF CHILDREN!" Snape was yelling.

Draco could just picture the livid expression on Snape's face and had a hard time suppressing a grin. From that outburst on all he could hear was just mumbling through the door. After a while he heard footsteps coming down the stairs to his right and decided that he wasn't able to hear enough to make having to give explanations that may not hold worth it so he left.

Dawn was trying not to giggle at Professor Snape's expression. He looked like he was slowly building up energy to yell all over again. It was another surprise to her when his expression suddenly softened. "I understand that you wanted to come and see Dawn, er... Spike wasn't it?" Snape started continuing after a brief nod from Spike "but we cannot just allow random vampires to walk in and demand to see their..." Snape was unsure of the next words; Spike didn't look like family and he looked too old to be a friend. He sighed, "What I'm saying is what if someone had mistaken you for a creature of the forest? You should have given us warning."

"She kind of grows on you, doesn't she?" Spike said leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, "She does that. You try not to like her but you can't help it, it's like she's going to be stuck in your mind forever-" Spike was interrupted by Professor Dumbledore walking into the office.

"Professor, Dawn. Spike, it is good to meet you at last, Dawn has told me many things about you and I have read a good deal more," Dumbledore said and shook Spike's hand while smiling at Dawn. "Now Severus, don't you think that there will be time to scold them later? Dawn, you may take Spike through to the Slytherin common room, no doubt you have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yes, sir," Dawn said getting up and pulling Spike along with her. They went to the common room and found it to be empty so they settled down onto one of the couches.

"So Bit how are they treating you here?" Spike asked but before she could answer she was cut off by a third person.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"What do you want?" Dawn hissed at the boy from earlier.

"Dawn, do you know this poof?" Spike asked and if Dawn hadn't still been feeling angry and hurt by her earlier confrontation with the blonde wizard she might have laughed at Spike's calling someone who closely resembled himself a poof.

"Hey!" Draco protested but was ignored as Dawn answered Spike.

"No, I don't, but he's mean," Dawn said, glaring at Draco.

"Do you want me to rough him up a bit? Even if it would hurt this here noggin," Spike said tapping his fingers gently against his platinum blonde hair.

"Hello, I'm standing right here," Draco said, glaring back at Dawn.

"Shut up!" Dawn and Spike yelled in tandem causing Draco's glare to deteriorate into a scowl.

"He's in my House, Slytherin, but since I've spent the last three years in a secluded part of the castle with no interaction with people other than teachers and the Headmaster, who happens to be a rather interesting old man with a candy obsession, and only just moved into the House area today I can't tell you much else about him. The Headmaster, however I can tell you has a real tasting for that candy Buffy..." Dawn fell silent at her sister's name.

Draco stood there, being ignored, but now he was content that they were talking around him and not to him since he figured that he would be able to learn a lot about the girl, Dawn, and her guest in this manner.

"Hey now, it's alright Nibblet, we all miss her. She loved you and she would have died many times over if it meant keeping you safe; you were the only thing that mattered to her, you little Bit were her one and only sister and that was special to her," Spike told Dawn with a sad smile.

"I just wish that it hadn't been three years since I saw her, I wish I had the chance to say goodbye, you know?" Dawn's voice was wavering as it filled with pent up emotion.

Draco stared at Dawn, wondering why she had been shut away, even when her sister was dying, only to be suddenly shoved into the main school.

"So, why did they lock you away Bit?" Spike asked causing Draco to smirk as the question he wanted answering was asked.

"Come on Spike, this is a school, there are children here! Can you imagine what would have happened if I had been in class with thirty-odd other students when Glory found me? They'd be dead or insane!" Dawn paused after her outburst wanting to dispel the unwelcome images it had brought to mind.

"Besides, it wasn't like I didn't get to go outside during the summer when the other students had gone home. It was just me and Professors Snape, Hagrid, and McGonagall with the Headmaster. It was fun, the summers, I learned to fly a broom, how to play quidditch and I took Care of Magical Creatures classes; they were so cool, I even got to touch a real, live unicorn!" Her enthusiasm seemed to calm Spike who had begun to frown as their conversations had gone on.

"Then once a year Professor Snape would take me to Diagon Alley to get the stuff I'd need for the next school year, we had to go when the Alley wouldn't be very busy, but it was the coolest! Snape may be a stiff coat but he's okay once you get to know him; like you, you're all 'Big Bad' until you get to know you then it's like you're a kitty cat." Dawn grinned then broke into laughter as Spike frowned, even Draco who didn't know Spike well could see what Dawn meant and was grinning.

"Hey! I am the Big Bad; I'm nothing like a cat. I eat cats, if you recall?" Spike told her and Dawn laughed. Draco looked a bit confused, wondering what the scrap of a girl was doing with something that ate cats.

"Ew, Spike! You know how much I hate it when you talk about your gambling for kittens; it's just wrong. Next time you could at least bring me one!" Dawn said.

"I'll do that," Spike said smiling, then whatever he had been about to say was lost as the common room door opening distracted him.

Professor Snape walked in, his eyes immediately fixing on Draco. "Mr. Malfoy, what are you doing here?" he snapped raising a single eyebrow in question.

"Umm... you see... I... was..." Draco stammered shuffling his feet slightly as he ordered himself to remember what it was he had been planning on using as his excuse.

"Been talking long?" Dawn asked sarcastically then looked at the Professor, "He was coming here to be mean and cruel, probably hoping for a repeat of earlier. You should rat him out to his parents and give him a detention," she suggested and felt pleased when Draco looked stricken at the prospect.

The Professor looked as though he was fighting amusement at Draco's reaction, almost like he was struggling to keep his glare in place, "I think, Miss Summers, that I will allow Mr. Malfoy to pass with just a warning this time. However," Snape's apparent amusement disappeared, "if I ever catch any of my students doing something out of line I do just that."

"Yes sir," Draco said embarrassed at being caught out.

"Now run along and stop trying my patience," The Professor ordered and after taking a final glance around at the girl and vampire Draco turned and left the room.

"Miss Summers, the Headmaster wishes to speak to you and your guest, please follow me and we'll go to his office," Snape said then turned to leave assuming correctly that Spike and Dawn would follow him.

When they reached the statue of the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office Professor Snape gave the password, "Peanut Buttercups" and the gargoyle moved aside allowing the trio to walk up the stairs and into the office which was cluttered with a wide variety of trinkets and gadgets of magical and mundane origin, Dawn thought that she would be able to spend days in the office and still come across new items.

"Welcome in, do sit down," the Headmaster greeted them. "I think I have some rather pleasant news, Severus, I have found us a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor," he continued as the three guests in the office sat down.

"Really Albus? Who?" Snape asked feeling quite miffed that it was most probably going to be some random crackpot that Albus had once more dredged up rather than he, who had wanted the job for years and was so very well qualified to teach it.

The Headmaster smiled, his blue eyes performing the twinkle he knew infuriated the younger wizard at times like these. "It rather depends on whether I was correct in recognizing Dawn's friend, Spike here, as a wizard. You are, are you not, a wizard?" Albus asked Spike.

"Well I was before I died, when I was still human. I still have my wand though," Spike said making himself comfortable by sticking one leg out and leaning back in his chair.

"Indeed. And did you not teach here, at Hogwarts, while still human?" Albus said opening a large tome that sat on his desk and raising it so that everyone could see the picture on the page he had opened the book to.

The picture was of a man that closely resembled Spike, except that the man had long dark blond hair, and was wearing glasses and dark blue robes, teaching a group of uniform clad children.

"I was the Defense teacher right up until Drusilla bit me," Spike said, starting to sound a bit grouchy now that he was presented with evidence of what he once had been in the form of a photograph.

"And do you still remember the magics and spells you taught?" The ancient looking wizard asked him.

"Yes, I do," Spike said, only just refraining from snapping as he became more and more annoyed. "Look, would you stop with the questions about my past! What are they all in aid of anyway?"

"I have decided, William, to offer you your old job back as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," when Albus finished speaking he was met with silence due to Snape's disbelief that a Dark Creature would be appointed, Spike's wondering about the same thing and Dawn's amazement that Spike would be nearby. It was Dawn who broke the silence giving a squeal and launching into babble.

"Oh my god! Spike that would be great! You could stay here with me and I wouldn't be alone anymore, you should take it Spike, you would make a great teacher!"

Spike smiled at Dawn and after thinking it over briefly he turned to the Headmaster and spoke, "Alright, I'll take your job, but only for Bit, if it wasn't for her then I would tell you were to shove the offer." Albus laughed.

"Headmaster, I must protest! Spike is not a wizard anymore; he is a Dark Creature, a Vampire! He should not be allowed regular contact with the students," Severus said.

"But Professor, he can't hurt any humans, the US Government had a project called the Initiative for a while and they put this chip thing in his head and whenever he tries to harm a human being it causes him physical pain," Dawn explained and Albus' smile grew wider.

"See Severus, he is a perfect candidate, now please show Spike and Dawn the way to the vacant dungeon level classroom, as you pointed out, he is a vampire and we do want our newest member of staff to last longer than a day, don't we Severus," there was nothing Severus Snape could say in return so he just glared, before getting up and motioning for the other two guests of the Headmaster to follow him. When they left they could hear Albus chuckling away to himself.

Severus led the way back down to the dungeons, passing through a few corridors to get to the classroom that Spike would be using for his lessons.

The classroom was about the same size as the potions classroom, it had no windows, and although it had desks and chairs they were a trifle dusty and disordered, the chalkboard was decidedly worse for wear; half of it was missing completely, the only sign it should have been there was the jagged edge left on the other half.

"The house elves and a few spells will have this mess sorted out in no time at all," Snape said then moved to open a door in the wall the half-chalkboard hung on. "These will be your living quarters."

The door opened and revealed a furnished sitting room that was much better off than the classroom had been, there was little dust and all the furniture appeared to be in good repair.

"Bit this is even better than my crypt in Sunnydale," Spike said looking very pleased, and Dawn giggled.

Severus stayed by the door as his student and new colleague looked over the apartment, in all his years he had never heard of a young human girl and a vampire becoming friends, at least not for longer than it took the vampire to secure an invite into the girl's home, but here they were, right in front of him, he shook his head.

"Dawn, it is almost curfew, I suggest that you return to your dormitory. Good night, Mr. Spike," Severus said, watching as Dawn hugged Spike.

"'Night Spike," Dawn said.

"Sweet dreams, Bit," Spike returned then Dawn and Snape left him as they went back to Slytherin.

Dawn had a hard time getting to sleep as usual when she was tucked up in her bed, but this time it was because there were other people, her dorm-mates in the bedroom and not only her thoughts of Buffy keeping her awake. Eventually exhaustion won over and she sank into a deep and dreamless sleep.


	4. Unfortunate Situations

Dawn awoke the next morning with the uneasy sensation that she was being watched. Sitting up in her bed, rubbing her eyes, she realised that she was indeed being stared at, by not one but four pairs of eyes. The silent staring continued for a while until one of the four, a girl with long blond hair, spoke. "Who are you?" she asked in a manner that could easily have rivalled Sunnydale's 'Queen C', Cordelia Chase.

"I'm Dawn, Dawn Summers," Dawn replied politely, falling back onto well ingrained manners even though she didn't really feel like the blonde she was extending her hand to deserved them.

"You're an American, aren't you?" The blonde was clearly trying to hide her interest in Dawn's answer, but was failing miserably.

"Um, yes, I am," Dawn confirmed.

"Really? Where in America?" Another of the girls crowding around Dawn in her bed asked. This girl had long, black, wavy hair that contrasted sharply with her bright blue eyes.

"Sunnydale, California," Dawn told her.

Dawn wasn't fully awake yet and what felt like the constant questioning from the girls was beginning to grate on her nerves, so to turn the tables she asked a question of her own. "Since all of you have my name, is it really such a bad thing for you to tell me yours?" Dawn asked the four girls.

"Oh, sorry for our show of bad manners there, Dawn. I'm Blair Zabini, it's nice to meet you Dawn," the blue-eyed girl, Blair, extended her hand and Dawn took it.

"Pansy Parkinson," the blonde said offhandedly, looking her immaculately manicured nails over.

"Clair Liota," said one of the previously quiet girls, this girl was graced with auburn hair and green eyes.

"Millicent Bulstrode," the last of the four girls introduced herself quietly. Dawn immediately felt a wave of pity for this girl, as opposed to having the delicate, polished looks of the other girls sharing the dormitory, this girl was on the chubby side and had very drab, boring, shoulder length, black hair. Dawn supposed that Millicent must feel like an outsider around the others, a feeling that Dawn could sympathise with. Dawn felt that with their shared position of 'outsider' that they would probably get along quite well.

"Well it's nice to meet you girls, but if you'll excuse me I have to get dressed and meet with Professor Snape to see what my classes will be," Dawn said climbing out of bed, before grabbing a clean school uniform and going towards the bathroom.

"Hey Summers!" Dawn paused and turned back towards Blair who had called. "Who was the hunk at dinner last night?"

"Oh, you'll see," Dawn said and walked into the bathroom.

Half an hour later when Dawn left the bathroom the only girl left in the dormitory was Clair who was finishing up a piece of homework. As Dawn walked past Clair on her way out of the dormitory, Clair looked up and smiled, Dawn returned the gesture.

The common room was filled with children of all ages, Dawn didn't recognise many of them as she walked through, and none of them made any move to approach her. She was almost out of the room when a loud "Hey you!" was called out, so Dawn ignored it, deciding that it probably wasn't her that they were calling to.

"Hey you! American! Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!" Dawn recognised the voice of the boy calling out; it was that irritating pale boy from the night before, Malfoy. She turned around slowly and treated him to her Death Glare.

"Oh. It's you," Dawn said scornfully. "Well Mister 'I Think I'm All That and a Bag of Chips', here is a reality check for you; the next time you want my attention, you'd better find out my name and then try using it!" She continued, trying to sound menacing, but ended up laughing at the boy's expression; he clearly wasn't used to being spoken to like that.

By the time Dawn reached Professor Snape's classroom some of her amusement had faded back into anger, but she was careful to not let it show as she knocked on the door and went in.

The classroom was old fashioned, and had a funny smell about it, a mixture of all the various ingredients and potions stored, used and created within.

"Ah, Miss Summers, I've been expecting you," Professor Snape said, motioning for Dawn to come and take a seat in front of his desk which had been pushed to the corner of the room. "I have your class schedule here so we can discuss it."

"Ok, what's my torture?" Dawn asked. Professor Snape raised an eyebrow then looked down at the piece of parchment on his desk.

"Is there anything you don't understand?" Professor Snape asked when they had gone through the plan, Dawn smiled and shook her head.

"Nope, I think I've got it all. It's going to be really weird being taught by Spike though," Dawn said with a small laugh. "I'll live. Well, I'll see you later, Sir."

"Goodbye, Miss Summers," Snape said picking up an essay to mark as Dawn left the room.

Dawn went directly to Spike's rooms and entered without knocking, she was excited for her friend and couldn't wait to see him.

"Spike!" Dawn yelled through the rooms.

"In here Bit," Dawn heard from the other room. She immediately walked through and was surprised to see Spike shooting a spell at the far wall.

"Yeah! Big Bad's still got it!" Spike cheered, blowing on the tip of his wand as if it had steam pouring out of it. Dawn giggled, and Spike finally looked over at her and smiled.

"My wand just arrived this morning, Willow found it for me. I'm just testing it out," Spike told her, holding out his wand proudly for her inspection.

"What's it made out of?" Dawn asked.

"12 inch, oak wood with a Veela hair as it's core," Spike answered, his fingertips brushing along the wand lovingly before placing it in the pocket of his duster coat.

"My wand's so cool; you'd never guess what it is made from, or who by! It was Giles! It has a core of blood from a vampire and slayer who were in love! That is just so cool!" Dawn gushed, holding out her own wand for Spike to see.

"Wow 'Bit that is a rarity, as you probably know, the wand chooses the wizard, for it to have chosen you is special. You'd better never lose or break it you will never get another wand quite like that one," Spike said placing Dawn's wand back in her robe pocket.

"I'll be careful," Dawn said.

"I got a letter from the Headmaster earlier this morning, he said he'd found a spell and bewitched all of the windows to prevent the bits that harm us vampires from getting through; I can walk freely through the school," Spike said, looking very pleased for himself. "Oh, and he said something about requesting my presence in the Great Hall this morning."

"Breakfast, yes, let's go," Dawn said pulling on Spike's coat sleeve.

"Okay, okay, slow down Bit," Spike said shrugging out of her grip and falling into step with her.

Dawn and Spike walked together until they reached the Great Hall where Spike joined the other teachers and Dawn went to sit by herself at the Slytherin table.

"May I have your attention please," Headmaster Dumbledore called out then waited for silence to descend upon the tables lined with hungry students. "After a long, tiresome search, I have found Hogwarts a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; I would like to introduce Professor Williams," at this, Spike stood and nodded his head at the curious children. Dawn didn't know whether to be irritated or amused that a few of the girls who were sat by her were sighing dreamily. "I would like all of you to give Professor Williams a warm welcome and the respect that you would give any other professor," Dumbledore looked around, fixing a few students with stern looks and then retook his seat, signalling that the students could resume their chatter and eating.

Dawn looked at Spike and smiled, he raised an eyebrow at her and Dawn giggled to herself. She turned her attention back to her breakfast, but was distracted when Blair took a seat next to her.

"So Dawn, what's your first class?" Blair asked.

Dawn took the last bite of her breakfast before turning to answer Blair, "Double Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Really? Well then, that's a class we will have together and with that hunk of a professor, whom you seem to be well acquainted with, teaching," Blair said with a dreamy look on her face that caused Dawn to laugh.

"I wouldn't say that about Spike, he's got a big enough head already," Dawn laughed then smiled, "I'd better get going, I have to go back and pick up my books, I'll see you in class."

"Okay," Blair agreed, but her attention had already drifted over to Professor Williams.

Dawn got up and started walking back down to the dungeons, with the intention of collecting her books, she had only reached the entrance hall when she was bumped into by a scrawny, black-haired boy who was wearing a rather ugly pair of glasses.

"Freaking A!" Dawn yelled as she was sent sprawling to the floor, "Watch where you're going!"

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you," the boy said, extending his hand to help Dawn up.

"What were you in such a hurry for? Is there a fire?" Dawn asked, soothing her sore behind.

"Actually, I was just late for breakfast," the boy answered apologetically, removing his glasses and wiping them on the hem of his robe's sleeve. "I'm Harry Potter, by the way. You're the new girl, aren't you?" Harry glanced at the Slytherin badge on Dawn's robes.

"Yes, Dawn Summers," Dawn said. She'd heard a little bit about this boy from Dumbledore, it seemed that he had a lot in common with her late sister; both of them seemed to attract trouble.

"Well it's been nice to meet you, Dawn, but I really have to go and get something to eat," with a small smile Harry walked past her and into the Great Hall.

"He needs new glasses," Dawn muttered to herself.

It didn't take Dawn very long after that to go to her dormitory and collect her books and writing materials, so when she arrived at the Defence classroom the only other person there was Spike. Dawn picked a desk at the front of the classroom for herself and set her belongings down.

"Hi Nibblet, are you all excited for your first day?" Spike asked leaning back in his chair, his feet, crossed at the ankles were resting on the desk in front of him.

"No, not really," Dawn said sitting down at her desk.

There were a few moments of silence, which Dawn broke, "Spike?"

"Yeah, 'Bit?"

"Was Buffy in a lot of pain when she died?" Dawn asked quietly, a small tear escaping and sliding down her cheek. Her question was one that had been on the tip of her tongue since setting her eyes on Spike the previous evening.

Spike looked at Dawn for a moment, searching for the right words to tell Dawn, "Yes 'Bit, she was, but Buffy wanted to keep you safe, and protected because she loved you more than anything, and that way was the only way she could do that." Spike's voice had begun to shake with emotion as he spoke, and he walked around the desk to gather Dawn into a tight hug as she cried.

What neither of them knew, nor could know, was that a trio of Gryffindors, waiting just beyond the door, had heard everything and that one of those three Gryffindors knew exactly what Dawn was feeling, because he felt it too.

"Ok, come on little 'Bit, stop the faucets. Class will be starting soon. Tonight we can talk all about this, okay?" Spike said, and slowly Dawn managed to get her tears under control. "Now go and sit down, everything will be alright."

Dawn turned around to sit down and saw the three Gryffindors staring at her, two of them were looking with pity, and the third, Harry whom she had met earlier, seemed to be looking at her with understanding. Dawn didn't want their pity, or understanding, so fixing them with her best glare she sat down, then switched to focusing on the front of the class.

The class quickly filled with a mixture of Gryffindors and Slytherins after that, all of them searching out seats to sit beside their friends and Housemates.

"Okay, first things first, I have decided that it would be best for you to work in pairs," He paused briefly, enjoying the looks of hope and anticipation that appeared on the students' faces. "As you all probably know, the Headmaster has an inter-house policy, so I've paired you all up with a member of a different house to your own," Spike paused again, revelling in the disappointment of the students. Now to strike the final blow, "These pairings are non-negotiable and will remain until you leave this school." Spike held himself back from grinning at the groans and irritated mutterings that spread through the classroom. Oh, there were definitely perks to being a teacher.

"Oh do stop whining, you're almost adults, it's time you acted like it," Spike scolded, picking up a piece of parchment from his desk. "Now then, when I call your name, find a pair of desks and take a seat beside your partner."

"Ronald Weasley will be partnered with Draco Malfoy."

Instantly a cry of "What!" was heard from both sides of the Defence classroom.

"Are you mental or what?" A red haired boy sitting next to Harry snapped, clearly unhappy with being partnered up with Draco. Spike fixed the redhead, who Dawn assumed was Ron, with a look that made even Dawn wince.

"Perhaps you need reminding that I am not only your teacher, but I'm not a very nice person who you'd be better off not messing with since I will not hesitate to show you just how not-nice I can be. You will do as I say. Go and sit with your partner," Spike said in a tone that invited no nonsense. Dawn smiled to herself, safe in the knowledge that while Spike was a vampire, he was harmless to humans. "Now, if we could continue?"

The class was completely silent, except for the movement of Weasley and Malfoy to a pair of desks that was quickly vacated by the Gryffindor who sat there.

"Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zabini," the list went on for quite a while because Spike paused after every few pairs to allow them to find seats. Nobody else complained about who their partners were, but there were quiet grumblings and unhappy looks in abundance.

By the time it came to the last few pairs Dawn was still sat alone at her desk at the front of the classroom, she started to get a little impatient, especially when it seemed that everyone had been paired up but her. She looked around the room and saw that Harry was sat alone as well, which didn't exactly comfort her.

"Last, but not least, Harry Potter and Dawn Summers," Spike finished and rolled his parchment up, looking satisfied with himself.

"But... but-" Dawn stuttered and glared at Spike, not quite believing that he'd paired her up with the 'Boy Who Lived'.

"Dawn," Spike said in a warning tone.

"Fine, alright," Dawn said, but pointedly remained sat in her seat, Harry Potter could come to her.

Dawn didn't look up at Harry as he sat next to her, instead she picked up her quill and fiddled with the feather.

"Seeing as there is generally a big difference between what a class has been taught and what the students have actually learnt, I thought that we would have a nice little oral test this lesson," Spike said almost bouncing at the dismay of the students.

"Who can tell me what a vampire is?" Spike asked, and immediately two hands rose into the air, joined momentarily by three more. Dawn, and the girl who had been with Harry and Ron, Hermione, were the first two to raise their hands, and the only ones to look completely certain that they would answer correctly.

"Alright, Miss Granger," Spike nodded.

"A vampire is one of the living dead; a reanimated corpse that rises from the grave at night to feed on the blood of the living. Vampires can appear human, though when it comes to feeding their demonic faces show through the facade. Vampires are made when the vampire feeds it's victim vampiric blood, though not many victims are turned or 'brought over'." Hermione supplied.

"Very good, that's cor-" before Spike could finish, Hermione started to talk again.

"Vampires are severely allergic to sunlight, it caused a reaction with their skin that causes them to set alight. Vampires can also be disposed of by driving a wooden stake through their hearts using a mallet, or an appropriate spell. Even with the advantage that magic brings, vampires are difficult to control or destroy as they are faster and stronger than the average human being."

"Thank you Miss Granger, that's enough information for now," Spike said, annoyed at having been interrupted.

"Ok, who can shed some light on the Vampire Slayer, then?" Spike asked.

This time only three hands were raised, Dawn's, Hermione's and Draco's.

"Go ahead, Dawn."

"Vampire Slayers are girls, Chosen Ones, called upon to fight the vampires, demons and other forces of darkness. They are stronger and faster than other humans. When one dies, another is called. Slayers are usually called in their teens, but most potential Slayers are taken in infancy and raised in training by their guardian, their Watcher. Being a Slayer is not an easy job, it's a big deal when one lives to see their eighteenth birthday," Dawn explained, trying to offer as many facts as possible.

"Thank you Dawn, that is completely right," Spike said, giving Dawn a slight smile.

"Sir?" Hermione called out, her hand straining in the air.

"Yes Miss Granger?" Spike said beginning to get the feeling that Hermione was a bit of an overachiever.

"Slayers aren't real, they're just legend, called upon by desperate people who needed hope of a saviour, and to warn off any vampires," Hermione said.

Dawn saw red. "That's a lie!" she yelled at Hermione.

"Really? How do you know that?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh perhaps because I've actually met one!" Dawn said not giving any clue that the slayer had been her sister.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but shut it with a click thinking better of saying anything.

"Now calm down, girls, this is nothing to get into a cat fight over. Miss Summers is correct, Slayers are real. I've met a few in my time, including the one Dawn knew. She was the longest living Slayer in the history of Slayers, which goes back to time unknown," Spike told them.

"She was? So she's not still alive?" Blair asked.

"No. She recently died saving the world from a Hell Goddess," Spike told them all looking proud.

"Time for the next question I think-" The questions went on for another fifteen minutes before Professor Williams called them to a halt.

"It seems that the majority of you know most of what the guidelines say you need to know. Now for the more interesting section of today's lesson; the practical. Each pair will have a short duel to demonstrate their grasp of the defensive spells that you have learnt. Who would like to go first?"

Before anyone else could volunteer Dawn raised her hand into the air, not bothering to consult Harry, resulting in him elbowing her in her side.

"Potter, Dawn, you're up," Spike said indicating the back of the classroom where a duelling stage stood ready, waiting to receive it's contestants.

"Thanks a bunch," Harry hissed to Dawn, but Dawn did not react anymore than to give him a sarcastically sweet smile, and lead the way up to the platform.

"Get into position!" Spike called, and both Dawn and Harry drew their wands and moved into comfortable versions of the more formal traditional duelling positions. "Begin!" He shouted, and at once they began to form the spells that their minds had prepared.

"Expelliarmus!" Dawn was marginally quicker sending her spell careening towards Harry, and sent him flying as the hastily cast spell was a little over zealous in separating the wizard from the wand.

Harry quickly leaped up and retrieved his wand, casting a spell at Dawn as soon as it was within his grasp.

Their sparring remained fast and furious, each competitor barely stopping to catch breath and gather energy in-between spells.

Spike had just called out a minute left when some freak of fate and timing caused both Harry and Dawn to send spells flying towards each other simultaneously crossing over midway between them, and in just as much unison as they had been cast the spells struck their intended targets, sending them crashing backwards into the walls and then crumpled to the ground.


	5. The Danger of a Short Life Ending

Dawn awoke slowly to incessant chatter, it was just loud enough that she couldn't get back to sleep. She had told Buffy over and over that she needed her beauty sleep and was about to tell her again, and in quite unsisterly phrases when she heard an unfamiliar male voice say her name.

"She lost her sister, that's what Summers and Professor Williams were talking about," Dawn heard the speaker continue.

It all started to come back to Dawn, she wasn't lying in her comfy bed in Sunnydale, her sister was dead and it was most likely that she herself was currently occupying one of the beds in the Hogwarts hospital wing. Dawn opened her eyes and discovered that she had been right about where she was and that the people talking about her were the Gryffindor trio, Potter and his friends. They hadn't seen that she was awake and continued to talk about her.

"Well, I asked the Headmaster about her and he wouldn't tell me much; just that she's from Sunnydale, California, which if you ever paid attention in DADA you'd know is the location of the biggest active Hellmouth. He also said that both her mother and sister died recently. He told me that I should keep my mind open to her, that she could be a powerful ally to have," Hermione said, speaking as if she were telling the two boys about something they needed to know for a homework assignment instead of talking about a living, breathing person.

"A powerful ally? You have got to be kidding me she's a _Slytherin_!" the carrot-topped Weasley exclaimed.

Dawn watched as Hermione glared at Ron.

"You know what Ron? Sometimes you can be so immature!" Hermione sounded exasperated by her friend. "You know the Hat has been on about inter-House unity these past few years. Maybe she's not as Slytherin as we think," she said trying to think up a logical reason that the Headmaster would have told her that.

There was a long pause until Hermione broke the silence and changed the subject, "Did you two finish your Potions homework yet?"

"Oh ow! My head! It really hurts - can't think - must - be - dying..." Harry said, faking falling into unconsciousness again.

"Oh Harry! You make me so frustrated sometimes!" Hermione huffed then hit Harry lightly on the arm before storming out of the hospital wing.

When the two Gryffindors heard the hospital wing doors slam shut they erupted into laughter, and Dawn, not wanting to draw attention to herself suppressed a snort of her own laughter.

"What can I do for you girls?" Dawn heard Madam Pomfrey inquire.

"We are here to see Dawn Summers," one of the girls spoke and Dawn recognized the voice as belonging to Blair Zabini.

"She's right over there, next to Mister Potter. I don't think that she's awake yet, but she should be soon enough," Madam Pomfrey told them, then, "Keep it down and don't stay too long, she'll need her rest so that she will be well enough to rejoin the main school tomorrow."

"Yes Madam, we just wanted to see for ourselves that Potter didn't do any lasting damage," Pansy said and then muttered "and to check that she got him as well as he got her."

"Now girls, we'll be having none of that. Get on with you and start your visit," Pomfrey said, shooing the girls in Dawn's direction.

"Well Weasley," Blair said. "It looks like Potter's just proved himself to be below you; bested by a girl, a Slytherin girl. You should rejoice and then find another puppy to follow around."

"Shut the hell up Zabini!" Ron growled, pulling his wand out of his pocket.

"Oh, what're you going to do Weasley, hex a girl? Put it away," Pansy said, sneering.

The girls turned as one from the Gryffindor boys and went to Dawn's bedside.

"I was wondering whether I'd get any visitors," Dawn said, a slight smile warming her face.

"Well, it looks like you're in one piece. Do you feel in one piece?" Blair asked giving Dawn the once over.

"Actually my head does hurt a little and my body feels kind of achy all over, but all round I think I'm fine," Dawn told the girls and got two smiles, a nonchalant wave and an ignore. "So, what did I miss in my other classes today?"

"Not much, a boring lecture in History of Magic, I have some detailed notes for that class which you can borrow, and Transfiguration was just turning a pencil into a chair, which is very easy and only complete dunderheads like Longbottom can't seem to grasp it," Claire told her.

"Long bottom?" Dawn asked.

"He's this incredibly stupid Gryffindor. He's practically a squib! In Potions don't sit next to him or you're at serious risk of getting splattered by a seriously bastardized version of whatever he's meant to be brewing when his cauldron explodes. And it nearly always explodes," Blair told her with a giggle.

"Okay, I'll be sure to file that in the 'must remember' files," Dawn said and when the other girls looked at her funny she brushed it off as a muggle/wizard thing.

"Summers, you showed yourself a good match for Potter today; I guess you're okay for being an American muggle-born," Pansy told her, and from her tone it was clear that it was supposed to be a compliment, though Dawn could clearly hear the disdain and disgust placed into her voice when she said 'muggle-born'.

"I'll take that as a compliment, Parkinson," Dawn said hiding a smile.

"Take it however you will, Summers, I couldn't care less," Pansy said then sat down in one of the chairs next to the bed.

There was a brief lull in their conversation that Dawn decided to break, "What's the deal with that Malfoy guy? Everywhere I turn he seems to be." And remembering how annoyed he made her she added, "He could definitely do with a manner adjustment."

"Yes, it does often seem that he could do with some work on his manners, but really, he's not such a bad person," Pansy said and before any one of the other girls could say anything else they heard a 'humph' from the next bed over and they all glared at the two eavesdropping boys.

"Curiosity of one of Draco's flaws... when he doesn't know someone or something he'll do anything to find out what makes 'em tick. It doesn't often help him make a good first impression- or second - or third! But give him half a chance and he's not too bad," Pansy continued smiling.

Blair snorted, "Yeah, it doesn't help his first few impressions that he's a right brat half the time, attention loving the rest, and constantly walks around under the impression that he's God's gift to the human populace."

Dawn laughed, "Okay, I think I have it, on the outside he's a conceited know-it-all brat but on the inside he's really an all round good guy."

"That about sums it up," Blair said and all of the girls laughed.

"You know Dawn, you aren't the only one of us Slytherins to have officially dueled with Harry Potter. In our second year Draco did, he conjured a snake that Potter then set on one of the Hufflepuff boys; I forget which one of them though. It really was quite amusing," Pansy told her.

The two Gryffindors looked up from their growing pile of exploding snap cards, Harry frowned as Ron glared at Pansy, "I did not tell that snake to attack!"

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Keep saying that Potter." She and the other girls turned back to Dawn again

Dawn looked confused, "Exactly how was he telling the snake to attack?"

"Potty is a parseltongue," Millicent said.

"I'm sorry, a parcel-what now?"

"Parseltongue. It means that I can talk to snakes. Okay, now we're all aware of Harry Potter's dark and sordid abilities," Harry snapped getting irritated.

"Okay, okay, let's leave moody-boy Potter alone... for now," Dawn said with a laugh and Harry scowled then rolled his eyes and refocused his attention on his game with Ron.

"You know, you look fine to me, why do you have to stay all night here in the hospital wing?" Claire asked.

"Probably it's to make sure that I don't have a concussion," Dawn said gingerly touching the big bump on the back of her head.

"Oh, okay, well I guess that's logical," Claire said.

"Heh, well at least you had a great excuse for not going to classes today," Blair said and Dawn laughed.

"Yeah, in Sunnydale I used to have to find excuses to skip so I could go and hang out at the mall; this is a much better reason," Dawn said and the girls just looked at her. "What?"

"What's a mall," Millicent asked.

"And what's Sunnydale exactly, I mean, you mentioned it earlier but..." Pansy asked shrugging slightly.

"Sunnydale is a city in the State of California, America and a mall is like the whole of Diagon Alley, but muggle, condensed in to one huge building with several floors and such," Dawn explained.

"And they are purely muggle?" Pansy said. "Humph.

"Well, I don't know that all of them are all-muggle, and you never can be too sure with Sunnydale," Dawn said and was relieved that Madam Pomfrey's approach meant that she'd not be asked any potentially painful to think about questions about Sunnydale and her brief life there.

"All right everyone who is not a patient, out! Visitation is over, but don't worry because if they continue to be as well as they are right at this moment they'll be out of here by breakfast," Madam Pomfrey said and there was a collective groan from all the teens who were being evicted.

The girls each said a goodbye to Dawn and together they swept out of the hospital wing, not one of them sparing the Gryffindors a glance.

"'Bye Harry, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast," Ron said, lifting himself off of the bed.

Harry smiled as Ron began to leave, "'Bye Ron, don't give Hermione too much trouble!" And with that his friend waved and left the hospital wing.

The two remaining teens looked at Madam Pomfrey who held two goblets of potion in her hands with some trepidation.

"Now, now, these may taste a little repulsive, but they will give you some much needed sleep and help you to get rid of those bumps on your heads," she said and handed the potions to her patients.

"I would suggest, Summers, holding your nose as you drink it so that you can't taste it so much," Harry said, grimacing as he held the goblet to his lips and took his own advice.

Dawn didn't listen, instead she knocked the potion back all in one swift gulp and regretted it almost instantly as her stomach and taste buds held a hasty conference on whether they actually wanted the foul concoction within her stomach or not.

Dawn sat for a moment in silence then finally her stomach settled, accepting the potion. "Oh My God! That was grossest thing I have ever tasted! I thought I was going to hurl," Dawn said, shuddering lightly, and as Harry looked at her funny she narrowed her eyes, "What!"

"Nothing. You just talk very oddly, that' s all," Harry said and Dawn glared at him.

"Like you talk any better," Dawn said as she started to feel groggy and snuggled further down into her bed.

"Okay you two, that's enough chatter. It's time for bed," Madam Pomfrey pronounced and wandered along the ward to check that one of her other patients, a small first year, had taken their own dose of sedative.

"'Night, Summers," Dawn heard from behind her.

"Good night yourself, Potter, don't let the bed bugs bite," Dawn said falling into a potion-induced slumber.

"William, would you like any tea?" Headmaster Dumbledore offered to his guest pouring a cup of the fragrant liquid for himself.

"No sir, I don't really have much use for the stuff being a vampire and all," Spike said.

"You're quite right," the Headmaster said with a chuckle.

"I could use a drop of brandy though," Spike said, rubbing his head, he'd had a very long day.

"I think I will too," Dumbledore said, setting his cup of tea aside and serving brandy for the both of them.

Spike took a slow drink, "Yes, definitely needed that. So, sir, sorry to sound rude- well, not really that sorry, but why did you want to see me?"

"Well William, it's about Dawn. I hear from Madam Pomfrey that both she and Harry are doing just fine," Dumbledore said. "But what we really need to discuss is the danger Dawn faces from Voldemort now that her presence within this school is known. He will try to get her, to use her power for his own undoubtedly nefarious purposes."

"What do you mean, her power, doesn't he have enough of his own?" Spike asked.

"Being the Key means that Dawn has a lot of untapped power just waiting to be unleashed. If Voldemort were ever to get his hands on Dawn and tap into that well of power she holds inside of her then he would be unstoppable and whatever chance we may have had prior to that will be lost," Dumbledore explained. "I fear that if Voldemort were to learn the exact truth of her existence then Dawn may be in even graver danger than Harry."

Spike was shocked, here, half-way around the world and yet again Dawn was in danger of wanting to use what she was for great evil to rule over the world and end it's current existence. He wondered vaguely if the poor child would ever get a break.

"She seems to have her sister's knack of attracting evil," Spike said speaking softly and cradling his now empty brandy glass.

"Yes, I have heard quite a bit about the 'adventures of Buffy the vampire slayer' as Dawn calls them," Dumbledore said looking the troubled vampire over.

"She was quite an amazing girl and Dawn is just as amazing, if not more so. It's hard to just sit back and watch all this stuff happen to her and not be in on the action," Spike said. "Albus, we have to keep her safe."

"We, of course, will do all we can to keep Dawn safe, but in the end it will come to how well she is able to protect herself. I think it highly advisable that she get acquainted with young Mr. Potter, they will be a great help to each other. He can help her reach the power she will need for protection and perhaps even to help Harry," Dumbledore said.

"What!" Spike roared. "Dawn is in no way, shape or form fighting Voldemort, do you hear me?" Spike said getting up from his chair, inadvertently knocking it over.

"There is no way that you can keep that path from her if it is her destiny, which I feel most sure that it is," Dumbledore told him.

Spike growled softly, "I will be having none of that, I will tie her up if it will keep her from risking her life in a fight that needn't be hers!"

"Miss Summers is very headstrong; I don't think that will stop her from doing what she thinks is her duty. I don't think that you can force her to run from another fight she thinks is hers to fight," Dumbledore said trying to reason with Spike, staying calm even though the vampire had allowed his anger to show his true face.

"All right, then we just don't tell her," his words slightly slurred now that he had what Dawn and the other Scoobies might call his 'game face' on.

"We have to tell her, if we don't we could be putting her in more danger by leaving her unprepared. Especially since she is in Slytherin and many of the Slytherins have parents who are Death Eaters or sympathize with their cause," Dumbledore said and Spike sighed and sank down into his righted chair as his features rearranged themselves into a more human-like appearance.

"Fine. If she must be told, then we will tell her together," Spike said with a pained look crossing his face.

"I really must say you are the most intriguing vampire that I have ever met. You don't have a soul and yet you still care deeply for these people as if you did. It's quite fascinating really," Dumbledore said a small smile on his lips.

Spike smirked despite his annoyance at the Headmaster, "Yes, I pride myself on being different. What's the fun of being the same as every other vampire?" He paused, "But you, old man, I would never even think to bite, chip or no."

"Well, why not? I happen to taste quite good," Dumbledore said, slightly offended that even in theory this vampire wouldn't bite him.

"I don't eat junk food," Spike said, standing and walking out of the office.

"Humph, well, if I were a vampire, I'd bite me," Dumbledore said to himself after the vampire left.

The next morning Dawn and Harry were both released from Madam Pomfrey's care and they walked to the Great Hall together, well, to be perfectly accurate Dawn maintained a gap of about four paces in front of Harry the whole way there.

Once at the Great Hall Dawn was accosted by Draco Malfoy.

"I see you finally managed to drag yourselves from the infirmary," Malfoy sneered.

"Oh yes, Malfoy, because I so went there willingly, unconscious as I was," Dawn shot back stalking past Draco to join her new friends.

"So you're the new Slytherin Princess, huh?" A boy with dark, almost black, hair and bright blue eyes asked Dawn as she sat down.

"Um, I don't think so, last time I checked I wasn't royalty," Dawn said.

"Right," he said with a broadening grin.

"That's what the rumors are calling you now that you've shown yourself a foe worthy of Harry Potter," Blair explained to her. "Oh yeah," Blair continued almost as an afterthought, "This is my twin brother, Blaise. Blaise, Dawn. Dawn, Blaise."

"Well it's a delight to meet such a pretty lady, Dawn," Blaise Zabini said taking Dawn's extended hand and rather than shaking it as she had offered it for, he turned it palm down and pressed a kiss to the back.

"Right," Dawn said skeptically, wiping the back of her hand on her school robe a look of disgust on her face.

"Well Zabini, looks like your charm doesn't exactly work as well as you thought it did," Draco said trying very hard not to laugh at his friend.

Dawn shot a glare towards Draco who shrugged, grinning at Blaise.

"Don't you ever know when to keep your mouth shut?" Dawn asked him acidly and Draco stopped smiling.

"Zabini," he said slowly, "why is it that all the Slytherin girls are bitches?"

Four very insulted "Heys," were heard and Pansy reached up and hit him on the back of his head mussing his hair in the process.

"Ow!" Draco exclaimed and Blaise started laughing at Draco who glared at him.

"Sorry, my friend, but you walked straight into that one," Blaise said laughing.

The chatter in the Great Hall stopped as the morning owls swooped down, delivering news from home, packages and papers. Dawn scanned the skies and saw Dusk among the owls, seconds later and Dusk was dropping a letter into Dawn's lap before settling down momentarily, but long enough for Dawn to pet her and give her a bit of toast to nibble on.

Dawn set her plate aside and opened her letter and was immediately delighted to see that it was from Xander.

Dawn,

Hey Dawnie, how are you? Willow and I miss you so much! We hope that you're doing okay.

I am so sorry that we couldn't save Buffy this time, we tried, we really did, but Dawn, whoever you blame for this, do not blame yourself for her death.

My dreams have finally come true and Captain Peroxide has left Sunnydale, so now we don't have to deal with him any more, it's a bright spot for us Scoobies.

Anya has left. She says that she can't handle the chaos of Sunnydale and has moved to New York. And she says that Sunnydale is chaotic. It broke my heart, but I think that is beginning to mend.

Willow and Tara have also split, Tara didn't like how much magic Willow is using and Willow is set in her ways and won't stop. Tara is going to stay with Anya for a while in New York. Anya calls them the 'Heartbroken sisters' but since it's me and Willow they left I don't see how that could apply to them.

Now that it's just me and Willow and Giles we have decided to come and visit you in a few days. Giles said no at first, but Willow and I can be very persuasive when we want to be.

Well I can't wait to see you and have a great day at school,

Love you always,

Xander

Dawn finished reading the letter with a smile on her face, then looked to Spike and then back to the letter.

"What has you in such a good mood now?" Blair asked, her voice full of curiosity.

"Oh, nothing much, I just got a really good letter from my friends," Dawn told them as she folded the letter and put it in her robe pocket to read again later.

Dawn had a distracted smile on her face the whole day through, which she received some rather odd looks for, but she didn't care, she felt like smiling.

After classes as Dawn was heading down the steps to the dungeons to get to the Slytherin common room Professor Snape stopped her.

"Miss Summers, come with me please, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you," the professor said then he turned and walked away, clearly expecting Dawn to follow, which she did.

They walked to the gargoyle statue and Snape gave the password, "Peanut Butter Cups," and ushered her up to Dumbledore's office.

"Oh it's good of you to get here so promptly. Dawn, please do take a seat," the Headmaster said and Dawn did just that, then she looked around the room and saw Professor's McGonagall, Snape and Williams, she smiled at Spike and then she noticed that also sitting in the room was none other than Harry Potter.

"Why are we here?" Dawn asked, getting straight to the point.

Dumbledore sighed softly, "You have, of course, heard of Lord Voldemort, Dawn?"

"Um, yeah, sure. He's the dark wizard who wants to take over and rule the wizarding world. He has a problem with people who aren't pureblood," Dawn confirmed.

"That's right, and as you know seventeen years ago Voldemort was vanquished by a child and the love his mother felt for him. Not too long after you joined us here at Hogwarts he became corporial once more and returned. I'm fairly certain that by now he will know of your existence and that he will, even now, be plotting to use you to make himself more powerful," Dumbledore said.

"What? How?" Dawn exclaimed.

"That we do not know," the Headmaster told her sadly.

"This cannot be happening, not again, not after everything," Dawn said more to herself than to any of the other people in the office as her eyes began to prickle with tears.

"I know that this will be hard to take in, Dawn, but you will be all right. Harry here is in the same predicament as you and we have decided that it would be best for you two to learn to co-operate, to be able to trust each other, become friends. Both Harry and myself will be helping you tap into the power that lays dormant within you at the moment. Professor Williams will be teaching Harry how to defend himself the muggle way, and perhaps you can renew your training with them," Dumbledore said.

"Oh the Powers That Be just love shitting on me, don't they?" Dawn said and everyone bar Spike looked surprised to hear the language Dawn had used.

"Miss Summers! I know this is quite a shock for you but that doesn't excuse such crude language!" Professor McGonagall scolded.

"Sorry Professor," Dawn mumbled, blushing. "I just don't get it, why me? First a Hell-goddess, now a Dark Lord, what next? A Teletubbie?"

Harry and Spike both chuckled but the other professors looked confused.

"I have no idea what a Teletubbie is, but it sounds awfully horrid," McGonagall said.

"It's nothing major," Harry said. "It's a creature from a muggle show for young children."

"So what does all this have to do with Potter, how come he's involved?" Dawn asked.

"Harry is the boy who defeated Voldemort all those years ago. I thought that you knew that, Miss Summers," Dumbledore said.

"No, no one told me the kids name, just that some child defeated Voldemort. Only thing I've heard about Potter is that I'm not meant to walk directly with him," Dawn shot a look at Professor Snape who was looking smug.

"Yes, well that isn't necessary. Harry isn't someone to be avoided," Dumbledore said, smiling at the clearly uncomfortable young Gryffindor. "Trouble just has a knack of finding him."

Sudden panic struck Dawn, "You're not going to shut me away again, are you?"

"No Dawn, that is not necessary anymore, Voldemort isn't as powerful as a Hell goddess so you should be quite safe here," Dumbledore explained and Dawn felt relief wash over her.

"Dawn, in two days time we will start your lessons. You will meet me and Harry here after dinner," Dumbledore said. "You are all dismissed."

Everyone turned and filtered out of the Headmaster's office. Spike, Dawn and Professor Snape headed for the dungeons, the professors leaving their charge at the entrance to the Slytherin common room.

Dawn walked straight through the room, not looking at anyone, even when Pansy and Millicent tried to catch her attention. She went straight to her dormitory and straight to bed.

She lay awake a top her bed and thought of everything she had just learnt and how it would impact on her life. She was extremely pissed off that once more she was in danger of her short life coming to a premature ending. She just never got a break, just like Buffy.

Dawn eventually fell asleep thinking about her dead sister.


End file.
